Sunscreen oddities: SPF cosmetics cut into sales as regulatory review proceeds. (skin protection factor)

SPF Cosmetics Cut Into Sales As Regulatory Review Proceeds

At what would appear to be a crucial time for the growth of sunscreen volume, when a reduced ozone layer and a continued trend toward outdoor activity have combined to accelerate the rate of skin cancer, the expectation among marketing experts would be that U.S. sales volume would enjoy at least double digit growth in 1993. Instead, the business appears to have experienced a modest growth, ending up in the $550-$575 million range as the consumer public assimilates the urgings of dermatologists, meteorologists, and cancer experts that daily use of sunscreens might be practical in preventing skin cancer and premature aging caused by increasingly harmful solar radiation. This is Slightly less than half the $1.15 billion market for sun care products in Europe last year, according to data provided by Datamonitor Cosmetics Database, London.

Why the gap between obvious need and marketing reality? Here are a few suggestions garnered from industry watchers and marketing experts:

* The incorporation of sunscreen actives into moisturizers and color cosmetics has persuaded women consumers especially that use of these products (not tallied in the sunscreen category) negates the need for application of regular sunscreens, possibly even in beach or swimming situations.

* Growing popularity of garments as sunburn preventives (baseball hats, beach wraps for women, tee shirts themselves treated with sunscreens) could be having a subtle if small effect on sunscreen use and purchasing patterns. Some of this may be linked to efforts by the medical community and the Skin Cancer Foundation that so-called deep tans and the post-holiday lobster …